Recipe for Filipino Ube Halaya: Philippine Purple Dessert

Ube halaya is a Philippine dessert that is such an eye candy – it is bright purple and looks absolutely yummy!

Creamy, velvety, and delicious, this all-time favorite Filipino sweet is cooked in many households in the Philippines for a host of special occasions.

In Christmas, Filipinos prepare this purple yam treat for family members gathering for the annual Noche Buena or Christmas Eve dinner.

During Catholic religious feasts, many mothers and wives prepare this soft dessert and serve it to visiting guests who have come from other towns to celebrate with local villagers.

Ube halaya is also a preferred token of thanks that Filipinos give to guests in traditional Philippine baptisms and rural weddings.

Special as it is, ube halaya is also served with other luscious Philippine desserts.

It is often made as a topping for halo-halo, a Filipino dessert of sweetened fruits and beans, shaved ice, and milk.

It is also served along with syrupy macapuno or very soft and sweet coconut meat.

Ube halaya is popular in the Philippine not just because of its taste but also because it is quite easy to make.

Ube or purple yam or sweet potato grows in large quantities in the Philippines – from the countryside to the neighbor’s backyards – so getting the main ingredient for ube halaya is not so difficult.

Also, people do not need to be an expert to make this lip-smacking dessert.

Just boil, peel, grate purple yam and mix it with other ingredients then you are likely to make ube halaya the way many seasoned cooks in the Philippines do.

Now, below is a recipe for ube halaya – Philippines delectable purple dessert.

Traditional Recipe for Ube Halaya

Approximate Preparation and Cooking Time: 2 hours

Ingredients for Ube Halaya

• butter or margarine – ½ cup
• condensed milk – 2 medium-sized cans
• evaporated milk – 1 medium-sized can
• ube or purple yam root – 1 kilogram
• water – 7 cups

Tools for Cooking Ube Halaya

• blender or grater
• containers

Instructions for Cooking Ube Halaya

1. Place the yam in a pot set over medium heat.
2. Pour water into the pot.
3. Allow to simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Drain the water.
5. Allow the yam to cool.
6. When completely cool, peel the yam.
7. Grate it.
8. Alternatively, you can cut it into cubes and place it in a blender until it is powdery.
9. In another pot set over medium heat, melt butter or margarine.
10. Pour in condensed milk.
11. Add in grated or powdered yam.
12. Mix everything thoroughly.
13. Lower down the heat.
14. Continue stirring the mixture until sticky. This usually takes about 20 to 30 minutes.
15. When ube halaya is already sticky, then pour in evaporated milk.
16. Mix again for about 10 minutes.
17. Remove from heat.
18. Transfer mixture into containers.
19. Allow to cool.
20. Refrigerate.
21. Brush butter or margarine on top of ube halaya.
22. Serve chilled.

That’s it! Your Philippine ube haleya is ready to eat!

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